Most people think the job search process begins when they need a job. No!

Your job search starts now, regardless of where you are in your career, regardless of how happy you think you are at your current job.

But that doesn't mean you have to cheat your employer out of your time, or short-change your clients and customers (I certainly don't recommend either one).

What you need to do is use your current job to prepare you for the next one. That next job could be within your current company, or elsewhere.

Regardless of where it is, if you don't prepare for it now, you'll find yourself unprepared for the opportunity when it comes along.

The best approach I've ever seen (and ever used) is to figure out the next career step you'd like to take, determine the requirements of that step, then start looking for opportunities in your current position to gain related skills and experience that will let you make the jump.

Acquiring those skills builds your resume. More skills, and especially more achievements are almost always good. You can choose to leave some off, if they don't relate to a specific

target job you choose in the future. It's simply wrong (and stupid, actually) to put stuff on your resume that you haven't done. Look for ways to fill your resume with high-quality achievements that give you (and a future employer) lots of material to work with.

Those new skills will help you in your current job, of course, which is a win-win situation for you and your employer.

All of that may be easier to say than it is to do. That's why it's important to get help as your try to figure out your direction and what steps to take to start moving that way.

Borrow a principle from sports. You need a coach.

I know, I know. You think career coaching is a ridiculously expensive waste of time. Not necessarily.

I'm not suggesting that you flush money down the toilet. But a relatively small investment can save you years of frustration, and keep you from wasting time on a "career" you really don't want.

So find a coach, and get moving!

Copyright (c) by Roy Miller